IPL probe: Shah Rukh Khan questioned by ED on FEMA violations

After actor Shah Rukh Khan being grilled by ED on Diwali-eve, Congress wondered whether the superstar has faced the wrath of the authorities for speaking up on the issue of intolerance. “A noted filmstar like Shah Rukh Khan is grilled for four hours… Whether he is facing wrath for speaking out or whether something wrong has been done by him,” chief spokesperson of Congress Randeep Surjewala said.

He said that suspicions on this score arose as the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI have nowadays become “instruments of vendetta”. Citing an instance, Surjewala alleged that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is the senior most Chief Minister in the country, faced ED raid on the day of his daughter’s marriage. The Enforcement Directorate has recorded the statement of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a matter of alleged irregularities in the sale of shares of Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd (KRSPL) to a Mauritius-based company.

“We recorded Khan’s statement yesterday in connection with the violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act,” ED sources said in Mumbai. The case, dating back to 2008-09, pertains to the share sale of KRSPL, owned by Khan’s Red Chillies along with Juhi Chawla and her husband, to a Mauritius-based company owned by Chawla’s husband Jay Mehta.

ED is probing allegations that shares sold to the Jay Mehta-owned Sea Island Investments were undervalued by eight to nine times. Khan had faced ED once in 2011 when he was questioned about alleged foreign exchange violation of around Rs 100 crore.